Over the last few years, concern for the environment has been increasing. We use phrases like ‘global warming’, ‘climate crisis’, and ‘greenhouse gas emissions’ more often than ever, but what does it all actually mean?
Before we tackle how and why wasting food contributes to climate change, we need to go back to basics and look at this global phenomenon from the ground up. Fasten your seatbelts – it’s time for some science.
Climate change: what it means
In its simplest terms, climate change means the gradual change in the makeup of our planet, including weather patterns and temperature changes. It’s a global issue which affects different places in various ways, from melting ice caps to forest fires.
Climate change: rising temperatures
One of the major consequences (and drivers) of climate change is the gradual warming of the Earth’s temperatures. The world is roughly 1°C warmer than it was pre-1900, which has resulted in the oceans in particular becoming warmer as well, with drastic effects on the polar ice caps which many species depend on. Melted ice also results in sea levels rising, which could in the long-term mean that coastal towns and cities are at risk of flooding or even being submerged.
Climate change: extreme weather patterns
With global temperatures increasing, there is evidence to show that this (and climate change more broadly) are having an impact on extreme weather. Droughts, floods, and meteorological events (like storms) have been becoming more frequent since the 1980s, and studies indicate that human activity is contributing to this trend.
What the long-term effects will be is unclear, but the connection between these extreme weather events and climate change is increasingly apparent.
Climate change: biodiversity loss
When habitats change (like polar ice caps shrinking), this can lead to species being in danger of extinction. All animals exist somewhere in a food chain, so when one species declines in numbers, this has a domino effect on the other animals which depend on it for survival.
Animals are generally divided into ‘predator’ and ‘prey’. If certain ‘predator’ species are declining, the ‘prey’ they eat could rapidly increase in number, with uncertain effects on the rest of the chain. The more damage caused by climate change, the more we risk upsetting the delicate balance of our Earth’s natural ecosystems.
Climate change: what causes it?
This is a complex question, with few simple answers.
While the Earth’s climate has varied naturally over millennia, scientists around the world agree human activity is driving factor of the climate change we experience today. We are doing this by releasing gases into the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide from burning fuels, which trap the heat from the sun and stop it escaping into space as quickly and easily as it normally does. This results in disruption to the Earth’s climate, rather than everywhere equally getting a bit hotter. The rising average temperatures are traceable to when industrialised activity began en masse, as well as rapidly increasing populations.
More people on the planet increases demand for water, land, crops, and other natural resources which can contribute to global heating or magnify the resulting effects. The food production system requires a lot of land, water, nutrients, and energy, meaning it has a big part to play in this issue.
Over-reliance on fossil fuels is also a large culprit, which is why governments, businesses, and citizens around the world are now looking to renewable sources of energy as a way to reduce our impact on the planet. ‘Deforestation’ (or permanently removing masses of trees) is also playing a huge role in releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Trees capture carbon during photosynthesis and release oxygen into the air, helping the world maintain a natural balance, so if there are fewer trees this means more carbon in our atmosphere.
Crucially for us, wasting food is one of many contributing factors to climate change. However, unlike some others, this is one that every single person can do something about. We all have the power every day to waste less food, ultimately reducing the impact we have on the environment.